All Forum Posts by: Trent Barga

Much appreciated! Yes it took me a few times to learn but have a solid contractor lined up finally after my 4th unit. Those have been harder to find/trust given the current market. Even being an agent our office has struggles finding good people who show up and stand by their work.

Yes I agree 100% on waiting and have them adhere to my timeline. On that note do you have a standard process and checklist for the turning of the unit?

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $72,500
Cash invested: $45,000

SFH was on the market for 121 days and it looked the epicenter of where COVID 19 started. Seller was in financial distress so I wasn't able to get it for exactly what I wanted but overall a good deal.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It was down the street from my other rental and was on the market a long time for the market conditions when everything else was selling.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found it on the MLS doing a search for properties that were on the market 90+ days. Place was a disaster but was only able to negotiate a few thousand because he was in foreclosure.

How did you finance this deal?

Lender financed with conventional lending and I put 25% down to lower the payment.

How did you add value to the deal?

Completely rehabbed the property interior and new roof.

What was the outcome?

Ended up with a 3/1 with an extended floor plan by converting the single car attached garage into living space.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Don't go with cheap constractors. Pay the extra money for people with experience

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Just myself

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $40,000
Cash invested: $75,000

Came across my first property prospecting for sellers as I am a Realtor. This deal was so cheap I weighed the option if I sold it to my investor how much I WOULDN'T make. Made them an offer which they tentatively accepted then a week later got it under contract behind my back. Luckily that deal fell apart and I was able to close. Borrowed $30k from the parents and put $10k in myself. Took me 8 months to get it ready but learned a lot

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It was a really low cost of entry and knew it would be worth double when I was done.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Prospecting for my real estate business. Tried to be cheap and offered them $2k less ($38k) loss the deal then got it back and purcahsed at their price of $40k.

How did you finance this deal?

Borrowed cash from my parents (private money) then $10k of my own. Rehabbed it as time went on.

How did you add value to the deal?

Completely rehabbed the property and time in market helped.

What was the outcome?

Now have an asset around $180-$195k with $75k invested and rents currently at $1500/month

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Don't be cheap.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Just myself.

I'm currently having to deal with my first unit turnover. My first tenant of 2 years left and cleaned the house decently. The tenant moving in behind was urgent to get into a place for schooling reasons. I did a walk through with the previous tenant and there is some painting that is being done, some repairs, etc. This is a nice unit that was rehabbed 2 years agos. So all interior items (painted walls (not ceilings), toilets, cabinets, etc) are only 2 years old. 

New tenant says she spent 5 hours cleaning and says it spells like dog. I wasn't able to get my cleaner in there because of their urgency. And she is asking for the whole place to be painted and ceilings (not happening).

My questions is what are your standard task/checklist for turning a unit and what is your timeframe on this? I've only rented newly rehabbed properties out.

Thanks!

 I would be careful on the 12% cash flow. I'm an agent in Dayton and invest. The areas with 12% might not be what you want. Columbus has a huge chip processing plant being built on the east side so that would be a good target area to look at investing if you can. 

@Danielle King

I found my first property on FB. Someone commented on one of those we buy houses ads. I reached out connected with the person. Found out he wasn't the real seller his mom was. Had a deal with her. Then lost the deal because she was going to sell it to someone who was going to pay her $3k more (I was trying to haggle - bad move). Two weeks later get a call from her daughter that the deal feel through. Got the deal back and paid her what she wanted.

If you are looking for a property you will find one but keep your mind open to the opportunity. FB is good, Like Russell said Prospecting, or just talking with people and letting them know you are an investor and are looking for a property to buy. Just put it out there and follow through.

Based on your title are you looking at becoming an agent or just buying your first property?

@Adam Lacey Good note. Yeah trying to take inflation into account given our somewhat secluded location compared to the rest of the market. Small town. 

@Justin Goodin Well they are asking $108k per door - they either 2/1 or 1/1 and in our market SFH that are 2/1+ don't even sell for that price. With the current market and how many people are trying to find/buy MF this one has been sitting for a while.